On 5th September 2025, John Cena had his last-ever match on SmackDown at the AllState Arena in Chicago, where he also made his iconic debut. His final SmackDown opponent admitted he was getting emotional ahead of the GOAT's retirement at Saturday Night's Main Event.In less than 48 hours, John Cena will have officially retired from WWE, with his farewell tour having come to a conclusion. His final opponent on SmackDown was Sami Zayn, with whom he had an epic 21-minute match before it ended in a no-contest. While that wasn't the way Sami Zayn or Cena wanted the match to go, it seemed to be a fitting clash for the end of an iconic SmackDown run.Sami Zayn paid tribute to the 17-time World Champion Cena by saying that he is getting increasingly emotional ahead of Saturday Night's Main Event:John Cena's final opponent, Gunther, lost credibility due to the Sami Zayn feud, says ex-WWE writer Vince Russo.According to Jonathan Coachman, an ex-WWE personality, Gunther wasn't necessarily the right choice to be John Cena's last opponent. Ex-WWE writer Vince Russo, who is Coachman's partner on the Coach & Bro Show, concurred with this take, stating that Gunther lost all credibility when he lost to Sami Zayn at WrestleMania 40.This feud was a year and a half ago, and since then, Gunther has gone on to win the King of the Ring tournament and even defeated Damian Priest at SummerSlam to become the World Heavyweight Champion. Some fans questioned the handling of his World Title run, but admittedly, Gunther was never blamed for it. Regardless, very few questioned the legitimacy of The Ring General as the World Champion. The criticism revolved around his booking, and that amplified when he lost to Jey Uso at WrestleMania 41 via tapout.Surprisingly, Vince Russo mentioned Sami Zayn's loss as the point at which he lost credibility, not the Jey Uso match. With that said, he did ultimately get his revenge on Jey Uso, albeit on a much smaller stage on an episode of RAW.There seems to be a polarizing opinion on whether Gunther deserves to be John Cena's final opponent. It's a bit surprising, given the consensus that Cena vs. Gunther was a match that needed to happen during the GOAT's retirement run. For what it's worth, Gunther has taken this criticism in stride and seems to be happy to be the antagonist.